I often get asked these questions. In the past I used to give a complicated answer that started with: It depends. It did not really answer the question and it did not satisfy the person who asked.

These days, I ask for a 5 minute access to their Google Analytics account and right there, on the spot, I give them a Yes or No answer.

The best part is that it doesn’t matter if the answer is yes or no. In between the lines (maybe I should say rows of data :) ) there are obvious hints on how to improve the conversion rate and that always always ends with a satisfying smile.

There is no 1 conversion rate

Like many other metrics, conversion rate should be calculated reported to a group with similar intentions, behaviors and characteristics: an homogeneous group.

Your whole website traffic does not fit the bill of an homogeneous group, but by applying segmentation you can split the traffic in such groups (these are just a few examples):

people interested in a specific topic who just discovered your website

people who come to your website to research your offer of products

people who don’t need your products or services now but consider them for the future or for their friends

people who are ready to buy and are looking for the best option

Each such group has a different conversion rate. Identifying how much of your traffic is represented by each group is not an easy task but we can generate sub-segments that are specific for each group and find out their conversion rate.

Segment, segment, segment

For people interested in a specific topic who just discovered your website, I suggest the following segment:

5 minutes of reports

If you ask: Is my conversion rate good enough? After seeing the above report, my answer will be:

Yes, if your global conversion rate is close to your best performing segment

No, if it is closer to your worst performing segment

But it doesn’t matter anymore. You already have a clear image of how your website is converting and what segment of traffic you need to focus on. All you need now is an action plan, but by now you should have enough hints to get started.

So, how good is your conversion rate?

Ever wondered if your conversion rate is good enough?
by Claudiu Murariu